Scientist supported in part by the NASA Astrobiology Institute have discovered that certain specimens of fossil Dickinsonia appear incomplete because they were lifted from the sea floor by ancient ocean currents, allowing sand to fill in the gap. The results suggest that Dickinsonia was mobile and not attached to the sea floor.

The study, “Dickinsonia liftoff: Evidence of current derived morphologies,” was published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.